Bruce Poliquin will not be part of the MPBN Republican primary debate this Thursday due to "personal reasons," according to a post on MPBN political reporter A.J. Higgins' Capitol Connection Facebook page.

When asked, Poliquin campaign manager Brian Phillips declined to say what the candidate would be doing instead

"Campaigns generally don't discuss scheduling decisions," said Phillips by email "That said, it was a tough decision to miss this opportunity. We're confident that our campaign schedule is making good use of Bruce's time and reaching out effectively to voters."

The Poliquin campaign's weekly schedule, distributed by the Maine GOP, shows no public events on either Thursday, May 27th or Friday, May 28th.

The cancellation comes a few days after Higgins referred to Poliquin as a "skunk at the picnic" in an online column due to his estrangement from the other Republican candidates.